The Food Confessional

Posted by Paola

This is something I have started to make regularly. It’s simple and fast to make and is very tasty.

Nutritional information per serving:

This recipe is for 4 servings.

2 x 400g tins of plum tomatoes in juice
5-8 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tin (400ml) reduced-fat coconut milk (optional)
1 tin aduki beads (200g) [1]
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
half a teaspoon reduced sodium salt
1 red pepper, chopped (optional)
1 red onion, finely chopped (optional)
300g Quorn mince (optional) [2]

for the dumplings
100g plain wholemeal brown flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon dried herbs (optional), e.g., tarragon or basil
a pinch of salt
freshly-ground black pepper

for serving
(up to) 1tsp olive oil
50g fat-free yogurt

[1] You can use any tinned beans which have been tinned without sugar but aduki beans add a lovely creaminess. My photos show borlotti beans.

[2] You can replace the beans with Quorn mince or use both beans and mince. A 300g bag of frozen mince adds:

• 282 calories
• 43.5g protein
• 13.5g carbohydrates
• 6.0g fat
• 16.5g fibre

1) Add the tomatoes and coconut milk to a large flat pan and put on a medium-high.

2) Mash up the tomatoes with a fork.

3) Add the paprika, crushed garlic, salt, beans and the optional ingredients.

4) Stir and cook on a medium-high heat, stirring regularly to prevent sticking. The longer this cooks, the stronger the flavour.

5a) Cook uncovered for up to 20 mins but, if in a hurry, you can cook it on a very high heat for 5 mins but you will have to stir it often to prevent it burning on the bottom of the pan.

5b) Meanwhile, make the dumplings, which you will add 10 mins before the end.

To make the dumplings, add the flour, salt, pepper, baking powder and any herbs to a bowl and mix.

Add just enough water to make a loose wet mixture that incorporates all the flour. It doesn’t matter if it’s runny.

6) Stir the pan contents before spooning the dumpling mix. Use your finger to drop spoonfuls of the mix into the pan. If the flour mixture is very wet, it’s okay, just add it as an even layer over the top.

7) Reduce the heat, cover and cook for 10 mins, or until the dumplings are cooked. Shake the pan every couple of minutes to stop it sticking and burning on the bottom.

This is the (unstirred) result after cooking.

To serve, push a dumpling aside to get to the tomato and beans and spoon into your bowl. Then add a quarter of the dumplings per serving. Drizzle with one teaspoon of olive oil and a large dollop of low-fat yoghurt.